Debrecen’s drinking water is safe to consume, the Municipality of Debrecen announced.
The statement was issued following new information published on social media regarding contamination at the Debrecen site of Chinese lithium-ion battery separator film manufacturer Semcorp. According to the reports, the Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment Association, working together with Greenpeace Hungary, detected manganese concentrations several times above the legal limit in water samples taken from three privately owned wells used by local residents.
The municipality stressed that water sampled from private wells should not be confused with drinking water supplied through the city’s regulated, closed public water system, as water from private wells is not the same as tap water.
According to the statement, Debrecen’s drinking water is supplied by three water production facilities located far from the industrial plants. The water is extracted from wells between 160 and 230 metres deep, drawing from protected groundwater reserves shielded by multiple impermeable geological layers.
The water sources and production wells are continuously monitored by a network of observation wells, allowing any changes in water quality to be detected in time.
The municipality highlighted that tests carried out by Debreceni Vízmű Zrt., the city’s water utility, show that the water quality in both the monitoring wells and production wells remains fully compliant with regulations. Before reaching consumers, the extracted water also undergoes a regulated and continuously monitored treatment process, after which it officially qualifies as drinking water and is considered a food product under Hungarian regulations.
The municipality emphasized that addressing the contamination discovered at the Semcorp site, eliminating the pollution, and cleaning up the affected area are the responsibility of the company responsible for the contamination.
“Debrecen Municipality continues to expect a comprehensive investigation by the competent authorities and the immediate implementation of all necessary measures,” the statement said.
Earlier, the Mikepércs Mothers for the Environment Association and Greenpeace Hungary said in a joint statement that they had commissioned laboratory tests on water from three privately owned wells used by local residents.
The tests did not detect the substances that had previously been released into the environment. However, they did find manganese concentrations several times above the legal limit in the wells. According to the organizations, the well owners use this water for drinking, cooking, watering livestock, and irrigating their gardens.
(MTI)
